Alabama man charged in Dodge County nearly 2 years after impregnating teen

JUNEAU – An Alabama man who fled Dodge County 19 months after allegedly impregnating a 15-year-old girl is in custody.

Patrick C. Berry, 36, Montgomery, Ala., is being held in the Dodge County Jail on $10,000 cash bail. Berry made his initial court appearance on July 2 on sexual assault charges that were filed in Oct. 2012 for allegedly sexually assaulting a then-15-year-old girl who discovered she was pregnant afterward. Berry is charged with one count of sexual assault of a child under 16. If convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison.

Police were first notified of the alleged assault on Sept. 15, 2011, when the girls’ mother contacted Watertown police to report that her 15-year-old daughter had sexual relations with a 33-year-old Milwaukee man and was now pregnant with his child. At the time of the alleged assault, Berry had been staying with the girl’s older sister. The girl later told her mother she had sex with Berry at a friend’s house and a nearby park and was now carrying Berry’s child, according to the criminal complaint.

The girl told police she had consensual sex with Berry and afterward told him she was pregnant. The teen also told police that she believed Berry had another child with a 14-year-old Milwaukee girl. The girl said Berry had promised to return to Wisconsin after the child was born in April 2012, according to the complaint.

Police made contact with Berry, who promised to marry the girl when she turned 18. The Milwaukee man said he was living in Alabama full-time with his grandmother and had no plans to return to Wisconsin soon. A warrant was sworn out for Berry’s arrest on Nov. 26, 2012, according to the complaint.